School superintendents on Wednesday cautioned against Gov. Bruce Rauner’s plan to shift teacher pension costs onto local districts, saying the move would undo any gains made under the new education funding formula.

The panel of school leaders testified during a joint hearing of the Senate’s two budget committees, chaired by State Senators Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill). Committee members are trying to better understand the consequences of Rauner’s plan to burden schools with $500 million in new costs next year.

Brad Skertich, superintendent of Southwestern Community Unit Schools in southern Macoupin County, said he’s finally felt a period of relief in budgeting this year but fears the governor’s plan will end that stability.

“For the first time in nearly a decade, we switched from survival mode to improving the quality of education for our students,” he told the committee. He said school funding reform was a step forward but feared a pension cost shift would be “two steps backward.”

Danville School District 118 Superintendent Alicia Geddis’ testimony reminded committee members of the demands beyond teaching that face schools. Despite the district's long-term financial challenges, Geddis said her schools are trying their best to stitch together a social service safety net for the 5,900 children they serve, 77 percent of whom are considered low income.

“District 118 is the second largest mental health provider in Vermilion County,” she said, noting that costs associated with services like suicide prevention or other mental health ailments aren’t necessarily something she can anticipate. Meanwhile, a pension cost shift would cost her district $3 million extra.

Senate Latino Caucus members joined Senate President John Cullerton, State Senator Don Harmon and immigrant and refugee rights advocates this week to discuss actions the Senate has taken to protect immigrant communities.

“I’m the son of hard-working immigrants, and as an elected official it is my honor and duty to support policies that continue to give the immigrant community the opportunities my family has had in the United States of America,” said State Senator Martin Sandoval, a Chicago Democrat and co-chairman of the Senate Latino Caucus.

“Donald Trump is trying to take away these opportunities in the land that I love,” Sandoval said, “but policies like these give hope to our people and show we are a force that can use our sacred legislative process to fight back against bigotry.”

A wave of deaths and hospitalizations in Illinois connected to a deadly strain of synthetic cannabis prompted the state Senate to act by approving a plan to broaden the classification of such drugs.

The proposal, sponsored by State Senator Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago), is an attempt to address the problem of synthetic cannabis producers who skirt the law by making small and potentially deadly tweaks to their products’ chemical formulas.

“We can’t afford to be stuck in a cycle of reacting to these irresponsible and deadly chemistry experiments,” she said. “We must act now to stop future deaths.”

Synthetic cannabis, commonly known as K2, has caused 99 cases of severe illness or hemorrhaging, some of which were fatal, in Illinois since March.

Students and teachers from dozens of Illinois schools came to the Capitol for the TECH 2018 Student Technology Showcase to demonstrate for lawmakers how they are using computers and technology in the classroom.

Since 1990, students and teachers have set up displays to show off their classroom projects and demonstrate how technology is the enabling tool of the modern learning environment. The schools facilitate access to tools and resources that promote accountability, communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. Students then plan and develop what they will present and demonstrate at TECH day.